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Monday, 16 December 2013

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JANE AUSTEN! P.O. DIXON, WRITER

What would my life have been like without Jane Austen?

My life is nothing at all as it was before I
started immersing myself in Jane Austen’s novels. Because
of Jane Austen’s legacy, I am an aspiring writer, and because I have effectively organized my life around my
writing, I find myself asking the question every day of what would my life be
if not for Jane Austen. I’d like to think my priorities have changed for the
better. Even though I have long desired the freedom to do what I want to do
when I want to do it, I now work more
hours than ever before. But, here's the thing: I love it.

I often say that I arrived late to the game, for my initial
exposure to Jane Austen was in 2007. For the
first time in my decidedly career-centric life, I saw the 2005 Pride and Prejudice film. Finding it too
spellbinding for a single viewing, I watched it over and over again. I needed
to know much more about the brooding hero. I then read the novel, along with
several excellent 'what-if' books that told the story from Mr. Darcy's
perspective. One day, I came across a link to the online Jane Austen fan
fiction community. From that point on, my life has never been quite the same.

My love of Jane Austen and Jane Austen fan fiction rekindled my
passion for writing and sharing stories, which was a favorite pastime when I
was in high school. Then I went off to college and save an occasional poem, my
writing passion faded. It would be several decades where writing and even reading
held not the least bit of interest to me. Not that I didn’t read. Give me a
technical manual or a financially themed book, and I would devour it cover to
cover. I loved that sort of thing. I rarely allowed myself the time to read for
pleasure. Even today, I have shelves of technical books (which I plan to

get
rid of) and only a hand full of romance paperbacks. However, my Kindle is loaded
with excellent e-books and audiobooks. Yes, it seems I have made a habit of
acquiring audiobooks as well. Once I have written enough stories to achieve my backlist
objectives, I plan to have my fill of reading and listening to my growing
collection of romance stories, especially those featuring Mr. Darcy.

About P. O. Dixon

P. O. Dixon is a writer as well as an
entertainer. Historical England and its days of yore fascinate her. She, in
particular, loves the Regency period with its strict mores and oh so proper
decorum. Her ardent appreciation of Jane Austen’s timeless works set her on the
writer’s journey. Dixon delights in weaving diverting tales of gallant
gentlemen on horseback and the women they love.

About Me

I've been an English teacher for a long time now and a blogger for more than 5 years. I love classic literature, reading, theatre, period drama, art and that is what I usually write about on FLY HIGH and My Jane Austen Book Club. I'd love to hear from you! Leave your comments to my posts or send e-mail messages to learnonline.mgs@gmail.com.